1 September, 2016The electric power industry in Asia is undergoing a number of rapid changes that impact workers. IndustriALL affiliates from Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea recently met in Seoul to discuss challenges and solutions.
The electric power industry in Asia is becoming increasingly privatized, a development driven by global capital and national governments. Mongolia's power industry was recently privatized, and in both South Korea and Taiwan attempts are made to privatize the electricity market.
The IndustriALL Global Union’s electric power union network met in Seoul, South Korea on 24 – 25 August, where participants discussed sustainable, safe and security energy policies and exchanged updated information in relation to the developments in their countries.
In Indonesia, for example, around 6 per cent of the companies have collective agreements and most of them only cover the basic rights of workers.
The right to strike is more or less non-existent in energy companies in Indonesia, as they are considered serving public interest. According to the Indonesian employment law:
“Implementation of the strike by the workers who work in companies that serve the public interest and/or will lead to the endangerment of human lives is set so as not to interfere with the public interest and endangering the safety of others.”
Coal and fossil fuels currently make up 78.3 per cent of the global energy production, but there is an increased use of renewable energy. Hydropower accounts for most, and is followed by wind and solar power.
Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary says that networks are necessary to secure workers’ right in the energy sector:
Through solidarity and cooperation across borders we fight to protect the rights of all workers and against anti-union policies.
The meeting was hosted by IndustriALL affiliate Korean National Electrical Workers Union (KNEWU) and its umbrella organization Federation of Korea Public Industry Trade Union (FKPIU).